get ready we're heading out to hit some
rails welcome to watchmojo.com and today
we're counting down our picks for the
top 10 pro skateboarders for this list
we're looking at the most influential
professional skateboarders to ever pick
up a board these are the guys that have
changed the way we approach
skateboarding and have had a serious
amount of personal success
I'm living it every day number 10 Andrew
Reynolds but I kept running into that
thing and did that which sucked known as
the boss in skateboarding circles the
moniker is fitting as he gained a
reputation for trying things that others
just couldn't pull off and Reynolds
appears to nail these feats with minimal
effort when he hit the scene in the
early 1990s turtle boy was snapped up by
skateboarding legend Tony Hawk's
birdhouse team alongside other
skateboarding greats
an influential skater and Thrasher
skater of the year in 1998 Reynolds
pedigree is matched by few I want to do
a company with these guys you know you
know so some guys they probably never
even heard of you today Reynolds is the
boss of Baker skateboards which boasts
Riley Hawk son of Tony as part of the
brand's team I don't want people to get
the wrong idea like I'm like like not
happy when I get this stuff because I'm
super psyched you know it's just after
getting killed I'm getting it I'm just
not like jumping up and down party
number 9 Eric Koston see if I can get up
at first chai still got it
a fearless skater regardless of whether
he's on the street or mid competition
Costin won't think twice about mixing
things up whether it be with the fan
dangle or the K grind with wins at
numerous X Games and other competitions
fortune has favored his brave approach
Costin started the 4-star clothing
company in 1996 and has even had his own
custom Nike shoe showing a pretty
far-reaching influence for a grade 10
drop out as a skater who has invented so
many of his own tricks his lack of
formal education clearly hasn't hurt him
none I'm pretty obsessive about every
detail you don't want anything to throw
you off mentally
skating number eight Steve Caballero
look at that it's easy to see why
Thrasher Magazine honored Steve
Caballero with the title skater of the
century fully dominating the
skateboarding world throughout the 1980s
the skater is noted for inventing the
caballerial also known as the fakie 360
ollie a trick that has even been
incorporated into snowboarding skilled
in both Street and vertical skating he
has been a long-term member of the Bones
Brigade which features huge names like
rodney Mullen Tony Hawk and Danny Way my
setup here it's a pal to Steve Caballero
a signature model Caballero may suffer
from scoliosis of the spine but that
didn't stop him from setting big air and
boardslide records throughout his career
number 7 mark Gonzales you know you're
breaking the law
really with skateboarding but I like to
do it I can't stop a true innovator of
Street skating the climate of the sport
would not be the same without mark
Gonzales along with nada Scopus he was
one of the first skaters to ride
handrails a major contribution to the
development of Street skating which is
for many the most popular form of the
sport about to attack this double set yo
Gonzales place in history was cemented
when he cleared a major gap with his
ollie at the famed skate spot
Embarcadero in 1986 the obstacle was
henceforth dubbed the Gon's gap I mean I
even turned off the camera I was like I
can't believe he made it that's it that
was good his pioneering influence was
confirmed when Transworld Skateboarding
endowed him with the legend award in
2006 pioneering has to do mostly with
seeing something already out there and
then adapting it and making it yours
that's what the Pyatt true pioneering is
about
number six tony alva but eventually what
happened was by freak circumstance I was
quiet when the first guys actually
started landing airs drying heavily from
the emerging surf culture of the 1960s
Alva skating style differ drastically to
that of most skaters of the time many of
whom were using more traditional tricks
and styles can you ride every inch is
hard and fast as you can
one of the first members of the
legendary z-boy skateboard team he was
an early innovator of vert skating never
a fan of convention Alva is credited
with making empty swimming pools part of
the skating norm I kind of missed the
old days but I said I sure liked riding
all the good pools that we have nowadays
Alva broke new ground in 1977 when at
just 19 he formed Alva skates becoming
the first skateboarder to form his own
company you know there's no limit to
what can be done with skateboarding
there's no rules there's no like
guidelines bit other than just get on a
board and ride number five
Bucky lassic the sidewalk bump that's
where I learned to do my first front
tire bonus this guy is too incredible
for one sport if he's not ripping it up
on his board
he's likely moonlighting as a rallycross
driver bucky applies pressure it's not
like last week's a mediocre skater or
anything either his 10 X Games golds are
a testament to his ability in vert
skating Oh
that's different the only thing he's not
good at losing but he doesn't do that
very often despite numerous injuries
lassic is committed to vert skating and
he is relentless in his pursuit of
perfection and progression it's likely
this dedication that made lassic the
first action sports athlete to show up
on the cover of ESPN magazine confirming
him as a legend in every sense of the
word
Bucky does it he crosses the finish line
with the first podium of his GRC career
number four
Danny way some of the things Danny Way
has achieved are unbelievable with his
track record of major injuries it seems
like he's almost superhuman in his
healing abilities
you
first he bomb drops from a helicopter
with a dislocated shoulder then he jumps
the Great Wall of China with a broken
foot and then he wins an X Games big air
gold while still suffering from his
Great Wall injury would it be a surprise
if this two-time Thrasher skater of the
year bomb drops from space at some point
probably not that is an incredible view
there number three rodney Mullen Mullins
influence on modern Street and vert
skateboarding is undeniable seemingly
brought into this world to serve
skateboarding the mutt started competing
at age 11 and was immediately a force to
be reckoned with
three years later he turned pro at age
14 because that's where the joy was for
me always was creating new stuff Mullen
is credited with inventing many of the
tricks which are now staples of modern
skateboarding including the flat ground
ollie the impossible and the kickflip
these contributions alone earn him an
automatic spot on any influential
skateboarding list and rightly give him
the title of the godfather of Street
skating but there is
is this beauty in you dropping it into a
community of your own making and seeing
it dispersed and saying younger more
talented just different talent take it
to levels you can never imagine because
that lives on number two Bob Burnquist
for Tony Hawk to say that you're his
favorite skater you've got to be doing
something right best known for both Bert
and big air skating Burnquist is so far
the only Brazilian to become Thrasher
skater of the year known as a creative
and innovative skater Burnquist made
history as the first skater ever to land
a fakie 900 the Brazilian won the slam
city jam men's vert in 1995 coming into
the event as a relative unknown
Burnquist would eventually win 12
x-games goals the most impressive of
which came in 2001 when he nailed
previously unseen vert tricks and
snatched the victory from bucky lassic
maybe better
before our top pik kickflips is way onto
the list let's take a look at some
honorable mentions
Oh
I don't teach
and
number one Tony Hawk
the greatest pioneer ever invert
skateboarding Tony Hawk has seen his
influence stretch far beyond the world
of skateboarding he is a cultural icon
and is largely responsible for the
rejuvenation of the whole sport in the
early 1990s
generations of future skaters will know
the Birdman as the first skater to land
a 900 we felt the groundswell I wasn't
sure if it was an earthquake or somebody
out there doing something special and
for his role in bringing skateboarding
to the mainstream because while the
other skaters on this list may feature
in his wildly popular video game Tony
Hawk is the star my priority has always
been to be progressive and if I'm
remembered as being progressive or
someone that that broke limits them
that's how I'd rather approach it do you
agree with our list which pro skaters do
you think deserve more recognition for
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